THURSDAY MARKED the one-year anniversary of the closing of the Long Island Bridge, which left hundreds of our most vulnerable neighbors without access to the lifesaving emergency shelter and addiction recovery programs that were housed on the island (“Year since Long Island’s close finds safeguards still lacking,” Page A1, Oct. 8). Despite progress over the past year at restoring many of these services on the mainland, the impact of this event is still being felt: Detox and recovery programs have yet to be relocated, some overnight shelters operate in substandard condition, and a lack of trust in the city’s response to the crisis remains.The distressing picture is bigger than Long Island, with family homelessness rising by 25 percent in the city in the past year alone.

I ask the City of Boston and all its residents to use this anniversary to recommit ourselves to creating a community of compassion; respecting the dignity of every person, housed and unhoused; and investing in solutions that will prevent homelessness in the first place.The Rev. June CooperExecutive director

City Mission Society of BostonThis letter appeared in the Boston Globe.